Cory was careful to take slow breaths. If he got his heart-rate up, the bleeding would be worse. Greg hadn't hurt him too seriously, it was all for show. Cory figured this out after the second cut - Greg was saving the big guns for until after he had served his purpose. Greg was carving a pattern of X's along Cory's chest, similar to the criss-crossed scars on his own, but perhaps a little deeper. The first cross was bearable, but each consequent slice hurt significantly as it passed over the previous.
Cory was fully clothed, except his brown shirt had been ripped open for the cutting. Unlike Katie, who had been carried, Cory was a little battered after being roughly dragged along uneven ground. His clothes were covered in patches of damp dirt and traces of leaf and twig. Greg had retreated into the dark to get something, and approached Cory carrying a medium-sized black sack.
"So, Cory," Greg began conversationally, setting the bag down and sitting next to him on the bed, "did you like listening to our little romp next door? Hmm?" Without warning, he ripped the gaffer tape from Cory's mouth.
"No," Cory replied, keeping a lid on his rage, knowing Greg would enjoy his reaction. "You're going to pay for that."
Greg tipped his lead back with genuine mirth. "Wow. You are something else." Evidently in a good mood, his blond hair curled across his forehead as he looked down at Cory's blood on his hands. "So what's the deal with her, anyway?" he jerked his head in Katie's direction. Both men could hear her softly crying on the other side of the curtain. "You think you're in love, or something?"
"You're going to get caught, you know," Cory ignored his question, glaring at him. "Your luck will run out. It's inevitable."
"Oh," Greg said thoughtfully, unconcerned. "I guess it goes to show how little you know about me." He lifted his head to the curtain. "Katie, honey," he called, "how much have you told these guys?"
"Nothing," they heard her mumble.
"Well, I'll determine if you're lying about that in a moment," he replied sweetly, his tone contrasting with the threat. He turned back to Cory.
"So, here's the thing," he explained. "I'm not really a cop." Noting Cory's surprise, he smiled. "Well, I am a cop. I mean, I have the gig, but I'm not trained or anything. My whole career and qualifications are fake. Aside from some monkey training, all that's legit is my recommendation - Dom's dad. George is the real deal, retired big-wig with medals and all. He was at the top of the tree, so he can hand out the apples. Thought it'd be easier to make me part of the law since I spend so much time breaking it on his behalf. Being a cop comes in handy when I need to get information or cover shit up, but my passion lies with the background work. You know, debt collection, interrogation, disposal.
The same goes for Dom, he's as of much a cop as Jesus was a Nazi. But he doesn't do any work for his dad. He just enjoys the power that comes with his position. Sure came in handy when he saw her." Again his eyes flicked to the orange curtain.
"What are you spilling your guts for?" Cory growled. "You're going to kill me anyway."
"Well, where would my manners be if I didn't spill mine before I spill yours?" Greg smiled.
"So, do you make a habit of incriminating yourself?" asked Cory, genuinely curious. "I thought you'd be smarter than that."
"Ah," Greg smirked, "I only share with people living on borrowed time. Katie's the only exception to that policy. No one has survived to share my secrets. Actually," he frowned, straining his memory, "there was this one guy who really surprised me. Managed to sever his own leg while I was taking a shit, can you believe it? Fucker bled out before I could get the information I needed."
Katie listened intently from the other side, discovering things that she had no idea about. She knew Dom and Greg weren't afraid of the law they supposedly upheld, but she didn't know it ran to the extent of numerous bloody murders. She thought fate had thrown them together as a nightmare duo, that Greg met George through Dom, not the other way around.
"You'll get caught," Cory repeated. "Mark would have reported us missing by now." Looking into his fierce eyes, Greg recognised that Cory wasn't just talking for show, trying to persuade him to back down. Cory really believed what he was saying.
"Well," Greg licked a finger and swirled the blood around his chest as it began to dry on him. "You're not the first to tell me that. When I get that speech, it's always from someone who's trussed up and begging. And, no, you haven't been reported missing, I've got people waiting for that call. I make good use of my resources."
Becoming bored with their conversation, he turned the topic. "So, tell me about you and Mark, and that girl," he said. "Did that have anything to do with your cousin, Alex?"
Cory hesitated, and Greg noticed the red tint that crept across Cory's cheekbones, particularly the way his light eyes glanced almost nervously toward the curtain. "Oho," Greg said, softly. "Of course. She doesn't know, why would she?"
"It's not what it looks like," Cory replied, grimly.
"Hah!" Greg gave a shout of laughter, slapping his knee. "That's exactly what I said when I got sprung questioning a police-informant. Ironic, right? Next thing, I had a second body to get rid of.
"Anyway, your own file was pretty buried, yet Alex has a record longer than my dick, and he's a free man. Which means you know as well as I do, that money can get you out of any fix, if you have enough of it. You and Mark must be loaded."
Cory didn't respond. But a sharp breath hissed through his grit teeth as Greg unexpectedly jabbed a finger into the centre of one of the crosses on Cory's chest. "No comment? I'll get blood out of this stone. You seem like a pretty straight guy, which interests me," Greg murmured, dark eyes narrowing as he pressed harder, causing more blood to drip brightly over his finger and down Cory's abs.
Perking up at the sight of fresh blood, Greg's thoughts switched back to Katie. "Maybe you're a little unique," he smiled coldly, pondering Cory's supreme control over his emotions, "but when I really get down to business, you're all the same." His soulless eyes rested on the black bag. "I look forward to finding out. But I can't have any real fun with you, until I'm done with her."
"If you touch her again," Cory promised quietly, "I'll kill you."
